It's Time for High-Performance Government

Winning Strategies to Engage and Energize the Public Sector Workforce

By (author) Howard Risher, William Wilder

Publication date:

08 August 2016

Length of book:

218 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781442261228

Leadership teams taking the reins of government in 2017 will have to overcome the demoralizing effects of years of budget deficits, a heavy loss of talent, frequent criticism, and mounting pressure to ‘do more with less,’ all of which have contributed to declining interest in public sector careers and deteriorating performance. Over the past twenty years there has been a widening gulf between the “people management” practices in the private and public sectors. Change is badly needed but it does not have to start by canceling existing civil service rules. This book argues for rethinking the way public employees are managed. The changes will contribute to a healthier, more productive work environment that once again enables public agencies to attract and motivate a highly qualified workforce. Written by leading experts with decades of experience as managers and consultants, It's Time for High Performance Government provides executives, managers, and elected officials at all levels practical advice to improve government performance.
It is a management cliché to say that 'people are the greatest asset of an organization.' But only few public leaders internalize it; even fewer of them operationalize it. All of them should read this book. Howard Risher and William Wilder go beyond the clichés and give solid details for public leaders. In these difficult years ahead, this book will become an operational guide for serious leaders.